Soviet
forces capture Mozdok and Nalchik in the Caucasus and Chernyshkovskii on the
Chir River.

US
Naval forces use proximity air burst fuses for the first time in the war. These
were the first rounds to sense when they were close to the target (something
solid like the ground or an airplane) and detonate before striking the target
increasing their leathal effect several fold.

Admiral
Raeder is sacked as commander of the German Navy as Hitler threatens to scrap
the surface fleet because of their recent inept performance against convoy
JW-51B.

The
first of 15 trains for the month arrived at Auschwitz from Belgium. Despite the
reverses on all battle fronts, the Germans were able to continue and increase
the pace of genocide. Of the 24,000 people delivered to Auschwitz in January
1943, 20,000 were gassed upon arrival.

General
Rokossovsky, commander of the Don Front, offered General von Paulus surrender
terms at Stalingrad. The terms guaranteed "their lives and safety
and after the end of the war their return to Germany". He also promises
that "...medical aid will be given to all wounded, sick and
frost-bitten...". Paulus, influenced by his chief of staff, a die-hard Nazi
named Schmidt, rejected the offer, condemning 250,000 men to their death.

Soviet
forces capture Zimovniki as German forces continue to withdraw from the
Caucasus.

US forces on Guadalcanal hit the Gifu
strongpoint with heavy air and artillery support and continued ground attacks by
the 35th Infantry Regiment.

?Operation
Ring? begins as the Soviet offensive to destroy the Stalingrad pocket opens.
The assault started with an hour-long bombardment from thousands of guns and
rocket launchers. Infantry from the 65th and 22nd Armies
made good progress in the west, advancing 5 miles. Some progress was made in the
north and south, but determined German resistance, limited gains.

Soviet forces launch attacks south of
Lake Lagoda, succeeding in driving a very thin land corridor to the city.
Supplies are rushed into the city while wounded and non-combatants are shipped
out. All of this was done under constant artillery fire against the cordon.

In
the Caucasus, Georgivesk, Pyatigorsk, Mineralnye Vody and Kuberle fall to
Russian advances.

The Voronezh and Bryansk Fronts open a
fresh set of offensives against the Hungarian 2nd and German 2nd
Armies. The Hungarian forces are overrun quickly and Soviet spearheads head for
Kharkov.

In heavy fighting, the Don Front
overruns the western portion of the Stalingrad pocket. Since the start of
Operation Ring, the front has lost 26,000 men and 125 tanks. German losses have
been as heavy.

Free
French forces under Gen. Leclerc attack out of Chad and clear southern Ligya of
German troops.

The
Casablanca Conference between Roosevelt and Churchill begins as the western
Allies plan the coming offensives throughout the world. To the disappointment of
both leaders, the planned invasion of Sicily and the cross-channel attack into
France were both postponed, the later until 1944. The leaders also agreed to
increase the terror bombing of German cities by RAF Bomber command and to begin
daylight ?precision bombing? of German industrial targets by US bomber
forces.

The main German airfield at Pitomnik is
captured by the Soviets. The Germans in the Stalingrad pocket how had only one
airfield, Gumrak, operationg. Night landings were no longer possible and
supplies had go be parachuted in. The daily deliveries were down to 60 tons, 20%
of the 6th Army?s minimal needs.

RAF Bomber Command, after four months
of terrorizing other cities, returned to Berlin with a heavy raid of 201
bombers. The attack did little damage (being beyond the range of radar
navigation aides), however, one load of incendiary bombs hit the Deutchlandhalle,
Moments before the bombs landed, the 10,000 people enjoying the circus and all
of the animals had completed the evacuation. The empty hall was quickly consumed
by fire.

The
Eighth Army destroys Rommel?s rearguard at Buerat, in Libya and is now just
300 miles from the Tunisian frontier. Iraq enters the war against all three Axis
powers.

Soviets announce that the siege of
Lenningrad has been raised. Despite this, rations in the city are still very
limited and German artillery can still reach any part of the city. Attempts to
widen the corridor (only 6 miles wide) fail, at a heavy cost in men and
material.

In the Caucasus, Cherkessk, 250 miles
southeast of Rostov, is captured by the Red Army

The Germans counter attack in Tunisia.
Free French defenders give ground but the attack is thrown back by British
reinforcements.

Australian
troops capture Cape Killerton and Wye Point in Papua, New Guinea.

British and American tankers at Bou
Arada, Tunisia are confronted for the first time by the vaunted ?Tiger?
tank. The heavily armored tank is equipped with the feared 88mm gun and has no
equal in the Allied armory.

After
a four-month lull, Germans moved back into the Warsaw Ghetto to restart
deportations to the Treblinka death camp. This time, the Nazis were met by a
small band of Jews firing smuggled pistols. The Germans responded with machine
guns but this first feeble attempt at resistance greatly improved the moral of
Jews.

The Soviet winter offensive builds in
strength and success as they claim capturing over 52,000 since the start of the
offensive. Voronezh Front continues to advance towards Kharkov. Meanwhile in the
north, 59th Army captures Novgorod.

The
British 8th Army continues its pursuit of Rommel across Libya,
capturing Homs and Tarhuna, near Tripoli.

The Germans launched a daylight raid
against London. In the attack, a school was hit killing 44 children and a
teacher.

With
the reduction of the Stalingrad pocket well in hand, Soviet forces begin to
leave the area to reinforce that attacks further west. To the south, the Red
Army captures Mevinnomyssk and Proletarskaya.

Von Paulus radios Hitler from
Stalingrad saying, ?Rations exhausted. Over 12,000 wounded unattended in the
pocket.? Hitler responded by stating, ?Surrender is out of the question.?
On the battle front, a massive artillery barrage, followed by heavy infantry
assaults results in the capture of the airfield at Gumrak and the Soviet 21st
and 62nd Armies linked up, cutting the pocket into two, north and
south of the city.

Japanese
forces are attacked and decisively defeated at Sanananda. Fighting continues at
Guadalcanal as US forces have success against Japanese forces around Henderson
field.

Soviet forces recapture Armavir,
securing the line of communications with the Maikop oil fields in the Caucasus.
At Stalingrad, the last German airplane, an He-111 carrying 19 wounded soldiers
and seven bags of mail, flies out of the pocket as the last German airfield in
the pocket falls to Russian attacks.

The Soviet attacks continue as
Starobelskii, 250 miles west of Stalingrad, is liberated by Vatutin?s
Southewest Front. Hitler reissues his orders not to surrender Stalingrad
forbidding even small groups of soldiers from attempting to breakout of the
pocket. In the meantime, Paulus orders that food should not be distributed to
the 30,000 wounded and sick at Stalingrad. The Trans-Caucasus Front attacks
begin to slow as they approach the Kuban peninsula. German resistance at
Novorussisk and Krasnodar is particularly successful.

The Allies declare that New Guinea is
cleared of Japanese resistance. In total, the Allies suffered 3000 casualties
and the Japanese lost over 7000. Of the 350 prisoners captured, the vast
majority were Chinese and Korean laborers.

Rommel?s
forces in North Africa leave Libya for the last time, taking up defensive
positions west of Medenine in Tunisia.

In
a review of war plans presented to the Diet by Premier Hideki Tojo reiterated
Japan?s official neutrality toward the Soviet Union, announced plans to
recognize the independence of the Burmese State, to grant independence to the
Philippines if their people were prepared to cooperate, and to aid India in her
fight for freedom against the British Empire.

British Mosquito light attack bombers
hit Berlin in the first British daylight raid against Berlin. The attacks
disrupted the Nazi party?s 10th anniversary celebration taking
place at the same time. After a delay of an hour due to the raid, Goering gave
his speech saying ?'A thousand years
hence Germans will speak of this battle with reverence and awe.? Meanwhile,
Paulus radioed Hilter saying, ?'The swastika flag is still flying above
Stalingrad. May our battle be an example to the present and coming generations,
that they must never capitulate even in a hopeless situation, for them Germany
will emerge victorious.? Hitler decided to promote
von Paulus to Field Marshal. No German Field Marshal had ever been captured and
Hitler hoped von Paulus would commit suicide.

While
escorting reinforcements for Guadalcanal, the US Navy heavy cruiser Chicago
was hit and sunk by Japanese aircraft. 21 sailors were killed, but more than a
1000 of her crew were rescued.

The Soviet government announced that at
1945 hours, after surrounding the Univemag department store building,
Chuikov?s 62nd Army, the defenders of Stalingrad, accepted the
surrender of Field Marshal von Paulus and 16 other generals. The northern pocket
continued to fight on.

The British 8th Army
captures Zuara near the Tunisain border.

RAF
bombers launch tonight?s raid over Germany against Hamburg. This was the first
time the H2S radar system was used to assist in targeting. The attack was only
marginally successful but would lead to more effective use as the terror bombing
campaign wore on.